


Impulse

by ludivine



Category: Original Work, The Sentinel
Genre: Coming of Age, Cute Kids, Government Agencies, Growing Up, Growing Up Together, M/M, Platonic Romance, Sentinel/Guide Bonding, they're just kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-27
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 19:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3622086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ludivine/pseuds/ludivine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was weird to think Dean was his, but he was. Cal and Uriah had told him so, so Mattia figured it must be true if Cal and Uriah said it.</p>
<p>Sentinel Dean and Guide Mattia are one of the youngest Sentinel/Guide pairs to ever exist. At just 10 and 8 years old they have a bond the strength of a pair that's been together for 15 years. Shaped by people who want them for different things, Dean and Mattie have to grow up and figure out what they truly want but being 10 and 8 doesn't help.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in my own version of the Sentinel/Guide Universe. I really enjoy this one. Out of all my tidbits I'll post, this is probably the most likely to get some type of extra chapter or addition. 
> 
> Also, Mattia and Dean are young and their love is a child love. So no warnings are needed for this post. But I put up teen in case of future parts.
> 
> Also, I like a good trivia question. So 10 points to Gryffindor if you can figure out what TV show I was watching when I titled this piece.

Impulse

Mattia thought Dean was utterly fascinating. He wasn’t sure why, but he couldn’t stop staring at him. It wasn’t that he was shy or nervous, because he swore to Uriah and Cal that he wasn’t going to be like that anymore, it’s just so many things. Like…

Dean smelled good, like the outdoors and camping, and a brazen fire. And if he got close enough, Dean smelled a bit cool too, like a frozen lake or spicy like cut peppers. 

Whenever Dean caught Mattia staring or trying to lean in a bit to smell him, the older boy grinned toothily, surprisingly shark-like for a 10 year old. Mattia was caught in his green gaze, blushing.

Also, Dean was better at everything than Mattia. Running laps around him on the track, getting praised by Cain more when they spar, finishing homework faster, finding his words easier when he talked, being harder, stronger. Sometimes it really wore on him and Mattia cried, sometimes right there on the training field and Dean would hug him and shush him. He even comforted better, always knew what to say.

Dean’s eyes were multiple colors too, not only forest green, but gold and brown, forever fluctuating. Dean turned tan over the summer, really tan, several shades darker than Mattia and he wasn’t even pale. Dean seemed to grow and grow, inches in a month, baffling Mattia who was still very small and skinny, muscle didn’t seem to stick to Mattia’s bones. 

Dean also explained one day that he liked to read textbooks, and it was true. Science and math and physics fascinated him, but he’d turn his nose at anything Mattia liked, like science fiction, fantasy, and adventure. 

Dean also had a cruel streak and a knack for spotting weaknesses. Manipulative and charming, Dean knew how to get what he wanted, sometimes even bullying Mattia into submitting. Mattia found this particular trait most interesting, because Dean could also be very nice, when he wanted to.

Mattia often wondered if all Sentinels were like that or if Dean was just different. He felt the latter was true, but wasn’t sure if he hoped it was true.

It was weird to think Dean was his, but he was. Cal and Uriah had told him so, so Mattia figured it must be true if Cal and Uriah said it. 

Mattia was playing a puzzle game on his hand-held when Uriah and Cal walked in together. Carefully, Mattia set it down, sliding off the couch and went to Uriah with an open palm.

“Not talking today huh?” Uriah asked.

Dean, from the lounge chair in front of the Xbox. “No-pe.” Ending the ‘p’ with a pop.

Mattia whined softly, still extending his hand until Uriah sighed, picking him up all together. Mattia purred faintly, placing a deliberate hand over Uriah’s uncovered forearm, looking at him pointedly.

Cal sighed, “You coddle him too much.” Glaring softly at the boy, “He’s eight, not four.”

“Tried all day to get a word out of him to no avail,” Jose said evenly, walking in thought the door from a wall that also held the one-way mirror. Hands in his deep pockets, “Cain tells me he’s been distant in PT and Katie said the same in class.”

Cal frowned deeply, “Where’s Sam? Isn’t he their psychiatrist?” And then lowly, “And why the Hell are they playing video games?”

“I can hear you, Cal.” Dean paned, “Sentinel, remember?”

“Maybe you were meant to hear it, Brat,” Cal says, shooting a glare with no bite. Cocking an eyebrow Cal asks, “What’s wrong with your Guide, Monkey?”

Dean frowns a bit at the nickname but shrugs, still glued to the game, “Dunno.”

“Look at me.”

The ten year old stiffens, annoyed. “What?”

“You heard me, Monkey.” The name softens the command. 

“Why?” Innocent enough but wiley like a fox, Cal can almost see the game unfolding in Dean’s head.

Beside her, Uriah and Jose tense almost simultaneously. They are mildly shocked, once again by Dean’s apparently dominant traits. At this age, Dean shouldn’t even have dominant traits. And yet here they are. Defiant, not good at following orders, stubborn. 

“Because I told you to, and you’re Guide isn’t acting right. Don’t you think that’s reason enough?”

Dean shrugged, “I guess.” His crisp green eyes were the color of spring grass as they looked at her. Putting down his controller, he walked over, rubbing his cheek against Cal’s arm almost breezily. 

A scent mark, establishing her as family, Jose thought. Interesting. 

Mattia whined softly from Uriah’s shoulder, touching his cheek. Uriah’s eyes grew distant. 

Cal ran her fingers though Dean’s dark brown hair, looking pensively at her mate and little Mattia who was currently communicating telepathically to him. She was telepathically connected to Uriah and could read their conversation. Mattia was displaying a story about an ant colony in the park that was washed away, told in frighteningly vivid aura display. Perhaps the boy was sad about that? Doubtful.

“All day?” Cal asked suddenly, still looking at their conversation as if it were played on a screen in front of her.

Jose grunted, used to dealing with Sentinels and Guides. “Afraid so. Should I call in Jaime? Or Sam? Or both.”

“You should call Jaime.” Dean piped up, “I like him better.”

“Call them both,” Cal said. Jose nodded and turned away to make the calls.

“I think I need to sit,” Uriah said, wincing.

“You okay?” Cal was there in a second, hand at his other cheek. 

He kissed her wrist, “I’m fine. You know how he overloads you sometimes. Takes concentration.”

“Maybe I should...”

“No,” Uriah smiled softly, delicately scenting the tiny boy, “We’re in the middle of something, yeah?” He turned to Mattia, who blinked and nodded once.  
Uriah squeezed her hand, sending her quick flashes of grass growing, aural diagrams of animals, and a confusing array of feelings towards certain topical plants and insects. It was all very scattered and fast like an angry kaleidoscope. Nothing like the smooth, ceaseless but gentle images Cal is used to receiving from the boy. 

“I think you made a good call, phoning them both,” Uriah said as he sat in one of the chairs, Mattia on his lap. “Something’s got him off.”

Cal nodded and watched them a few seconds. Dean was still beside her. She could sense his anxiety, but she wasn’t like Mattia. Couldn’t see the auras of those around her, she was a two-way empath like all higher-level Guides but wasn’t Aural and wasn’t a Pusher like Mattia. She also didn’t have his almost clinical perception of the world, the ability to see individual things as well, individual things, separate from a larger picture. In the Guide world, they call them “Opaques,” normal humans used to call it Autistic. 

“You’re worried aren’t you?” Cal asked Dean.

Dean looked up at her with unreadable forest green eyes and said nothing. Cal swore in her head, if she weren’t a guide she’d be thrown for a loop by these two. Mattia was a complicated mess and Dean only provided information when he felt like it. Hell, it’s been almost ten months now, and she’s still thrown for a loop by the children.

“Their on their way,” Jose said, head poking in from the door.

Cal nodded. “Got any coffee in there?”

“No sugar.” Jose answered.

“It’ll do.”

Jose got her some coffee and she had barely sat down on the couch with Dean before Jaime was walking in the door. Like always, the high level Guide’s energy took up an entire room. Everyone in said room winced except for Mattia who had straightened and glued his eyes to the door about four minutes before Jaime actually got in. The sound the eight year old let out was something like, “Mmm!”

Jaime’s dark eye narrowed immediately as he stalked to the boy, picking him up off of Uriah’s lap. Jaime held him, eyes glowing beseeching amber. He ran his fingers over Mattia’s face gently for a moment in front of them. And before Cal could properly say something, he was darting through the door he came from which lead to the larger facility, demanding a psionic room to anyone that could hear.

A few moments later after they could no longer hear Jaime, Sam walked in. The lower level Guide looked around for a moment, and sighed, “He already took him didn’t he?”

“I’m afraid so,” Uriah helped.

Dean frowned and Cal could sense a real anxiety in him. 

“Are you alright?” Cal and Sam asked him simultaneously. 

Dean looked at both of them and looked away quietly, “It feels weird when he’s gone.”

Sam looked at Cal and Cal nodded. 

Sam smiled gently at Dean and sat down next to him, “Can you still feel him?”

“Yeah,” Dean answered. “I can hear him too. They are on the third floor now, south wing I think.”

Cal tried not to be shocked at the precision of that answer. She reached for Uriah, both mentally and physically as she stood. He smiled softly, sending her waves of affection. 

Her Sentinel snuggled up to her in comfort, head placed so his neck was bared ever so slightly. Cal growled in approval, running a hand through his short hair and scenting his neck where his gland was. He smelled glorious and sweet, like her Omega. Perfect, and just what she needed. She gave him a short kiss before he backed away. 

Dean was staring at them owlishly, an interesting look on him instead of Mattia for a change. Sam’s face was bemused if anything. Neither Cal nor Uriah was very embarrassed. 

“Will me and Matt do that?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Sam replied. “Is that what you want?”

A brief flash of annoyance dawned Dean’s face, “You ask so many questions!”

Sam laughed aloud, warm and soft, “Well I am a psychiatrist.”

Dean rolled his eyes but smiled too, “Yeah, but can’t you just like read my mind or something? You are a Guide aren’t you?”

“Is that mainly how you and Mattia communicate?”

“Ugh!”

Uriah chuckled, their sides are still touching so Cal can feel the vibrations of laugher from his body, “While they do that, why don’t we figure out what they have for dinner today.”

Dean’s head whipped around, “Yes! Please?”

Uriah nodded and looked at Cal. “Okay,” Cal said. “We’ll be back bearing food, we promise.” They left shortly after.

“You can’t answer a question with a question, you know,” Dean frowned playfully. “It’s not fair.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said, even though Dean doubted he really was. “I’ll answer your question. Yes, I am a Guide, and yes I could read your mind, but sometimes listening for the answer a person gives up themselves is much more telling.”

Dean chewed on that for a moment, “Really?”

“Hmm.” Sam answered affirmative. 

Sam. “Are you worried about your Guide? I heard he’s been acting odd today.”

Dean rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, “He’s always odd.”

“But odder today.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Dean supplied. “But I’m not worried. I just don’t like him being so far.” When Sam didn’t say anything, Dean continued. “Everything gets too…” he gestures around his head, “Loud, you know?” A pause. “Well I guess you don’t, because you’re a Guide.”

“I have a Sentinel, Dean.”

Dean’s eyebrows rose as he looked at Sam, “Woah. Really? How come I can never smell it?”

Sam smiled easily, “I wash off the scent. I heard it could be distracting to developing Sentinels when I’m working.”

Dean blinked at him as if discovering a new person, Sam grinned at the curiosity. Sam didn’t pry too deep, keeping his word, but he could see Dean was analyzing him. His shifting eyes indicated a close visual inspection of Sam’s throat, wrist, and waist. 

Understanding seemed to dawn on the boy’s face as if he found what he was looking for. The boy finally looked away. Quietly, “Do you do what Cal and Uriah did a lot?”

Sam shifted, “You seem very interested in close displays of affection between Sentinel-Guide pairs, what has you so interested?”

Dean glared at him.

Sam laughed, “Sorry, I forgot.”

Dean waited patiently with cool green eyes on him. This wasn’t the first time Sam has been shocked by Dean’s stark dominance. Dean made it clear he was only going to talk on his own terms. Sam wasn’t quite sure how to handle the behavior but he sucked it up and tried again.

“My Sentinel’s name is Eloise. We have a relationship very similar to Cal and Uriah’s.” Sam answered. Dean’s eye’s narrowed but he didn’t seem upset.

“Cal loves Uriah,” Dean said.

“Yes…” Sam waits.

Dean can’t help himself, “Me and Mattie will be like that right?”

“If that’s what you both want.” 

Dean nods, thinking. Sam takes this moment to analyze his emotions: want (but of what, he had no idea), envy, frustration, self-doubt, confusion, worry. Very complex emotions for a ten year old. But then again, most ten year olds aren’t in pair bonds. “You don’t see very many bonded pairs here, do you?”

Dean’s emotions flicker and then dim as his eyes rest on Sam again. Sam blinks, ‘he’s learned to somewhat suppress his emotions’, he thinks. ‘Impressive.’

“Cal doesn’t let us watch very much TV,” he answers.

“Hmm.” Sam makes a mental note to somehow remedy this problem. It might be healthy for them to see more than one mated pair interaction. Maybe even incorporate it into class. He’ll talk to Cal about it. 

“So,” Sam says, changing the subject finally. “Nothing weird with your Guide today?”

Dean looked uninterested in this line of questioning. “No. He woke up like that. Not talking.”

“Did he try to communicate to you telepathically?”

“Yeah,” Dean said. ‘That’s how we talk.”

“What percentage of your communication is telepathic daily, would you say?” At Dean’s contemplation, he asks, “Do you know what percentage is?”  
Dean shoots a glare, “Duh. I’m not dumb.” He thinks again and shrugs, “Like 80%.”

Sam intakes a breath, “That’s a lot. I had no idea—“

“It is?” Dean asks, right as Uriah and Cal walk in with Styrofoam boxes.

“You should really eat in the cafeteria, but I’ll be nice today,” Cal says, setting the boxes down on the center table.

“Ooh,” Dean says, darting up, all interest in conversation forgotten. “What is it?”

“Did you know 80% of Dean and Mattia’s conversations daily are telepathic?” 

Cal. “What?” 

Uriah. “Chinese.” A pause. “Wait, what? 80%? Really?”

Dean opens a box and grabs a fork, settling on his knees. “Is that weird?”

“That’s very high,” Sam goes on, pacing as Uriah and Cal watch, dumbfounded. “Sentinel-Guide pairs that have been together for years don’t even converse telepathically at 80%. Telepathic links are usually only for private matters because it can get distracting when functioning in the real world. It takes up a lot of psychic energy to do that.”

“Well, that could be why Mattie is so quiet.” Uriah says, looking at Dean eating and running a hand through the boy’s thick hair. The ten year old barely acknowledges as he shovel’s food in his mouth but doesn’t complain.

“But not why Dean is so loud,” Cal says wryly.

“Hey!” 

“What do you two talk about?” Sam asks Dean.

Cal intercepts, “Maybe we should talk after we eat.”

Sam nods, eye’s flickering to the door.

Jaime pops in moments later, Mattia in tow. As usual, Jamie’s aura fills the entire room. This time instead of nervous energy it’s more warm and gentle. He sets down Mattia who walks purposefully to Dean’s side and sit’s close to him, sides touching. They rub heads like kittens, Mattia sighing softly. It’s almost sickeningly adorable.

“Cute.” Jose pans from the doorway. 

Jaime smirks at him, eye’s alight, “Nothing like two children Eskimo kissing to brighten up your day, ay Jose?”

Jose snorts. “I’m heading home for the night. Martinez and Stackhouse are doing the night shift, I’ll tell them you’re here.” He sends a cool look around the room, “Anything interesting happen?”

Jaime. “To say the least.”

Sam. “We need to talk.”

Cal. “I think we should get the staff together.”

Jose takes it all in with a raised eyebrow, “In the morning then?”

Nods. 

“Good. We’ll schedule a meeting.” Jose leaves quietly, leaving one last glance at Mattie who just took his first bite into an egg roll, and shuts the door.

At night, the boys sleep together. After Mattia cried literally for hours one of the earlier nights in their relationship, the staff decided sleeping in the same bed wasn’t a huge infringement, considering how young they are. However, a night watchman usually kept an eye on them as they slept. Today it was Mr. West. Mattia liked him because he thoughts were quiet and orderly. Dean liked him because he was a Beta and smelled like clean air, his breaths even so as barely there at all.

Dean and Mattia held hands when they slept, and also sometimes when they were awake. It made conversation much, much easier. Mattia himself was a high-level touch empath and Dean always tested high in touch sensing. But for some reason the adults were uncomfortable when they held hands in front of them.

“What happened today?” Dean asked softly.

Mattia sent Dean floating images of animals and plants surrounded by deep shades of color. Yellows, Greens, and Blues were the most common colors.

“What?” Dean pushed back against the onslaught. “I don’t understand.”

Mattia sighed aloud and squeezed Dean’s hand tighter. Dean’s hands were very sensitive. Mattie tried again, sending a crisp clear image of a single flower, a dandelion that sometimes grew between cracks in the sidewalk, surrounded by a glittering soft pink, the color so light Dean had to mentally squint to see it. The mental image faded into one of Jaime surrounded by a golden halo of excitement as he emphatically gestured saying, “An amazing development… so young… mentally expanding… plants and animals…” Mattia followed up the scene with a burst of dark blue emotion signaling his pride.

Dean was silent.

“Do you understand?” Mattia asked. 

“You have a new power?” He said. “Something about plants.”

Mattia glowed orange with satisfaction. “Yes!”

“Oh.”

Dean was shown bright displays of the aura of a rabbit Mattia saw for only a fleeting moment but managed to catch it’s light purple nervousness and cold blue fear as well as hardy green determination. It was all very subtle, much subtler than a human’s, and almost barely detectable. 

“Animals too.”

“Yes!” More orange.

A pause.

“You aren’t happy?” Mattia asked. “Why?”

“I am.” Dean defended. 

“No.” Mattia showed him his own aura, usually brilliant green-gold like his eyes, tinged with brown discontent.

“I hate it when you do that.”

“Can’t help it.” Mattia purred mentally. “Tell me.”

“You’re stronger than me.”

Mattia paused mentally and dark surprise filtered over their bond. Mattia sent him mental images of Dean running, sparring, and playing sports with some guards and also images of Dean talking Ms. Katie into buying them chocolates from the vending machine. Stronger, Faster, Smarter, Better.  
“You’re stronger than me.” Mattia fiercely denied. 

Dean laughed, shocked. “I guess we both think each other is better.”

“Yes…” Mattia sighed. In reality he snuggled closer to Dean.

“Good night, Mattie.”

Mattie only held his hand tighter and reflected mental pictures and emotional projections of sleep. It never failed to make Dean conk out like a light, holding his Guide ever closer.


	2. The Little Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A brief flash-forward in which Mattia is now 14 and Dean is 16 and they long. They just long.

The Little Things

 

There is only time of day when Mattia and Dean are entirely alone. Well, that isn’t exactly true because they are still being watched, recorded, and monitored, but that’s a given. But this _is_ the only time they are in a room together alone without anyone else _physically_ in the room, even if their quarters have large one way windows that span the middle of the wall space. Mattia has learned to take what he can get, and he hasn’t been truly alone in a long time anyway, if he’s even been at all.

Dean is fresh from a shower, hair holding little beads of water that drip onto his grey T-Shirt. He absently rubs a towel through his thick brown hair, leaving it sticking up in the front and on the edges. Mattia thinks it makes him look like a rock star complete with the moody eyes and dry smile. Dean is squinting at a data pad balanced in his lap, focused on the remains of his math homework so determinedly that Mattia could read the words from his mind if he wanted to.

“Just substitute in a new variable.”

Dean looks up, green eyes reflecting his emotions, which float like heavy fog, simultaneously annoyed and fond, “I know, Moe. Believe it or not I’m not a complete idiot.”

Mattia smiles a little, “Just trying to help.” He fidgets with the worn edge of his shirt. He has so much to say and isn’t used to being this nervous around Dean. It’s starting to become an issue. Now that they are older, Mattia has felt a shift in their relationship. He feels all at once completely overwhelmed, confused, and so afraid sometimes he can’t breathe. And when he looks at Dean, sometimes he wonders if he can read minds instead of him.

Like this very moment for example.

Dean grows quiet after regarding the younger boy, “Come here, Mattie.”

Mattia winces but walks over to the bed in the dim room. He and Dean sit side by side and Mattia can feel the heat off of Dean’s skin. The soft smell of soap and distinctly _Dean_ enters his nose and Mattia sighs softly. It smells like home and everything Mattia has ever allowed himself to want.

They stare at each other face to face with small smiles, just letting each other read. Mattia can feel the subtle tenseness in Dean’s shoulders (getting broader everyday) like a heavy weight. Dean’s eyebrows knitting go hand in hand with a dark pool of uncertainty hidden from view in the recesses of Dean’s being. The set of his mouth is echoed in the shimmering burgundy glow of something dangerous and powerful lurking in his soul. It’s always been there, but Mattia hasn’t ever allowed himself to touch it, too afraid of what he might see.

He doesn’t know what Dean reads but after a moment Dean’s forest colored eyes grow soft and distant, caressing his face. And his aura fades briskly to the familiar dark red of lust and deep love that leaves Mattia breathless each time. Mattia smiles wryly and Dean grimaces as if on cue, looking away and slightly sheepish.

Mattia leans his head against Dean’s shoulder. Dean immediately goes through a cycle of tensing and relaxing until Mattia slides his hands over Dean’s own, tracing patterns of veins and callouses.

Dean’s fingers twitch but his shoulders are slowly relaxing by millimeters. Mattia is a touch-empath and Dean rates very high for touch sensing. It’s always a sure way to calm him down and facilitate a deeper connection in his mind. Mattia sends soothing feelings of warm affection cultured from his own soul until Dean is completely relaxed, breathing deeply in his hair.

Dean’s lust is familiar but slightly unsettling if Mattia’s being honest. It’s so raw and sometimes completely powerful and unexpected that Mattia just gasps at the breadth of it. Now that Dean’s getting older, so is his mind and body and Mattia still feels like such a child around him.

Mattia’s fingers still drift over Dean’s tan skin gently. Trailing gently over his wrist and forearm. Dean’s hand clenches and Mattia works his hand back into it soothingly.

“You saw didn’t you?” Dean says quietly.

“What?” Mattia asks, removing his head from his shoulder.

Dean sighs and Mattia squints to see his aura turn a dark shade of red like a mixture of embarrassment and frustration.

Dean growls, averting his eyes, “You know what.”

Mattia ponders that for a moment and then shyly, “You mean you masturbating?”

Dean’s breath starts and he removes his hand to completely look away. He looks upset, with flaring nostrils and squared shoulders. “How can you not realize that bothers me when you know that?”

Mattia sighs at the loss of touch and turns to him, “I can’t not feel it, your basically projecting it at me.”

“Oh God,” Dean groans, green eyes looking everywhere but him. Mattia watches him and lets him process that with a gentle patience. Dean stumbles, not often uncertain or embarrassed, “Do you… do you like know.. uh?” With rough, vague gestures of his hands.

Mattia can’t help smiling a little at that, “Do I know what?”

Dean glares at him deeply for a moment, pointing at him with a scowl, “You little shit. Are you enjoying torturing me?”

Mattia shrugs easily, choosing a diplomatic answer, “Blair says that having sexual desire is a part of growing up, is perfectly normal for a Sentinel of your—“

“Please stop,” Dean groans, covering his face, “Oh my god.” After a brief realization, “Have you been talking about this with Blair?! Mattia!”

Mattia looks away this time, “Not all the details—“

“Details?” Dean looks aghast.

“Would you stop?” Mattia growls finally. “Does it matter if I know what you think about when you jerk off? Dean, look at me. I…I think about you too. All the time actually.” He confesses softly.

Dean looks at him a bit like he’s stuck between wanting to leave this conversation and like he wants to kiss him. His aura confirms a dark feeling of lust and power along with fear and apprehension.

“Yeah, but _I_ don’t know when you jerk off.”

Mattia rolls his eyes and then laughs. After a while Dean cracks a smirk too and they sort of stare at each other with something akin to fascination at each other characteristic of best friends and lovers. Mattia wonders if it’s too early to call them that. It’s always been something of a debate whether or not they would develop a romantic relationship or a working one.

Mattia grins softly and kisses Dean on the corner of the mouth, “Let’s stop talking about this okay?”

“Hmm,” Dean agrees, looking slightly dazed from the half kiss, giving Mattia that 100% attention look that Mattia shivers at. Oh yeah, Mattia thinks, there’s no way in hell this will be platonic.

“Maybe if we ask nicely, they’ll let us sleep together today,” Mattia muses with a sneaky grin, turning back towards the bed.

As if on cue, Dean’s aura turns various shades of pink and red with lust and want. It’s like a sugar rush or a high and Mattia laughs in response.

Dean growls, and grabs his elbow, “I know what you’re doing and it’s working.” He laughs. “I’m so fucking screwed for you, I hope you know that.” He’s warm and solid at his side.

When Mattia turns around they’re face to face again but closer. Dean’s green pupils are shifting and slowly dilating. Mattia takes a moment to stare at him and ogle. Sometimes they are content on just looking.

Dean’s fingers twitch and his insides swirl with emotions so complex Mattia grins at them. Even he’s having trouble piecing together the other boy’s thoughts right now, it’s beyond fascinating to feel, to be so close and be outplayed unknowingly.

“What are you thinking, Dean?” he asks quietly.

“Hm, you don’t know?” He drawls. His eyes flicker over Mattia’s face and then off to the window where they are probably being watched closely right about now.

Mattia shakes his head, still smiling, “You’re an _enigma_.”

Dean smiles slowly at that, “Is that right? Isn’t keeping track of my mind your job, Moe?”

“You’re reading all over the place right now, Chief,” Mattia purrs.

Dean’s crisp green eyes flash to his mouth then eyes in mild surprise, mouth quirking at the side. He looks a little coy and Mattia blushes at the deep attention and the feeling of slight confusion.

Dean gently runs his fingers though Mattia’s dark brown hair, longer than his by a bit and shuffles his nose close. Mattia practically melts at the firm hand over his scalp, drooling as Dean moves closer. He’s almost sure they’re going to get flagged any minute. But Dean is moving very intentionally, the only point of contact is his hand in Mattia’s soft hair. Mattia can feel as Dean begins stretching alternatively his sense of touch and sense of smell and autometically works to stabilize that. Guiding Dean has become almost second nature, even though Mattia doubts he actually needs it.

By the time Dean’s pulled away, Mattia is gaping and breathing heavily. Dean grins widely at him and squeezes his arm. “Let’s get some sleep, Moe. That expression is priceless, by the way.”

Mattia blinks at him owlishly, watching his saunter over to his bed on his side of the room. “I thought I was the only one allowed to mess with you.”

Dean grins and winks, “This is a two way street, Babe.”

And dear god if that doesn’t send a spark down Mattia’s spine. He groans and flops down on his bed across from Dean’s. It isn’t fair that Mattia is an entire two years younger than Dean and still mentally developing, or they’d be bonded officially by now. It’s also not fair that Mattia is so high maintenance when it comes to his Guide abilities. The instructors are more busy prepping Dean to handle him than for him to handle Dean.

“I’m shutting off the light,” Dean murmurs. “We have to wake up early for drills, so get some sleep.” Dean shuts off his pad and lies down on the other side of the room.

“I sorry we’re not bonded yet Dean,” Mattia whispers into the darkness of the room. Quiet enough that no normal person could possibly hear it.

The room grew silent and Mattia squeezed his eyes shut, pulling the covers around him like protection. He meant what he’d said but saying it aloud to Dean only had the ache in his chest grow worse. He clutched the center of his chest and tried not to sob.

After a few seconds, he heard movement and felt the covers move as Dean climbed in with him. He immediately went to the warm circle of his arms. This close, Dean’s emotions could hardly be told apart from his own and Dean’s unflappable levelheadedness, gentleness, and patience cooled him. But he was also too good and could tell Dean’s hidden emotions were just out of reach but not impossible. Like the huge weight of pure power he felt periodically from Dean, another weight made itself known, like a looming mountain filled with some dark emotion that Mattia had trouble placing but felt very similar to his inner ache. He imagined it felt the same to Dean too. A sense of emptiness, a feeling of being simultaneously together but very far apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suppose I plan to jump around in time a wee bit. I have something of an idea but I guess we'll see!

**Author's Note:**

> Dean was loosely (very loosely) inspired by young Dean from Supernatural. But I felt no need to list that as it has nothing to do with the plot, and only slightly on personality. I decided to mention it here because it might help better picture his character. 
> 
> ....Oh. And if you want to base Uriah off of Veronica Roth's Uriah than by all means.


End file.
